When Joseph R. Brown, a mechanical genius and self-styled tinker, opened a small
shop with his father, David, in Providence to make and repair watches and clocks in 1833
he was, like many other young men of his time, encouraged by what he saw around him.
The Industrial Revolution was changing the American economy from agrarian to one based on
manufacturing. By the mid-1830s, American manufacturers had the technology in place to
produce goods in quantities and at prices that made them affordable for a growing
population. The time was right for a mechanic and machinist like Joseph Brown to combine
his watchmaker's skills with the new techniques of mass production.
In 1848, Lucian Sharpe joined the company as an apprentice. Mr. Brown and Mr. Sharpe
shared an interest in precision measurement and, in 1851, Lucian became Joseph Brown's
partner. The company began the manufacture of precision measuring instruments in addition
to its watches and clocks. In 1851, the J.R. Brown & Sharpe Company introduced the
precision vernier caliper.
In 1855, the company began the mass production of the Wilcox and Gibbs sewing machine.
Following that was a series of unique machine-toll and metalworking products - such as the
turret screw machine, universal milling machine, formed tooth cutter, universal grinding
machine, and automatic screw machine.
A linear measuring machine and the world's first mass-produced micrometer were also
introduced during this period, along with products such as the hair clipper. Brown &
Sharpe even played a part in designing the equipment to manufacture America's first cold
breakfast cereal - Shredded Wheat.
In 1876, the company began to develop its celebrated apprentice program, a training
program that was to eventually become the original apprentice program, a training program
that was to eventually serve as the model used by the U.S. Department of Labor for
apprenticeship programs throughout America. Under this program, the company's philosophy
of precision measurement and manufacturing was passed on to hundreds of apprentices who
became skilled craftsmen and industry leaders in their own right. One such individual was
Henry Leland, who went on to found the Cadillac motor car company.
Lucian Sharpe acknowledged the importance of his own work ethic as a foundation for
success. In 1876, he wrote in his journal: "I decided that I was going to work just a
little more accurately than any of the other apprentices around me, and when I had
succeeded in doing this, then I would learn to do it still more accurately than I had done
it before. Throughout my life, that has been my one idea."
Lucian Sharpe's concept of the relationship between precision manufacturing and continuous
quality improvement has grown to encompass the science of dimensional measurement, and to
make Brown & Sharpe the world's leading supplier of metrology equipment.
Dimensional metrology is the measurement of the physical size and shape of objects --
whether it be the diameter of a cylinder in an automobile engine or the taper of a
surgical instrument. Manufacturers that integrate dimensional metrology with their
manufacturing processes can make products of consistently high quality at lower cost.
In 1993, the company celebrated its 160th anniversary, making it the oldest independent
manufacturing company in America. Although well-known throughout the world for its machine
tool products, Brown & Sharpe today focuses on the metrology business. The company has
14 manufacturing facilities in seven countries and 30 Precision Centers throughout the
world. Worldwide, the company employs 2,400 people, 400 of which are in Rhode Island.
The product lines ranges from hand-held precision measuring tools such as calipers and
micrometers to custom metrology equipment, optical measuring instruments, coordinate
measuring machines, and integrated measuring systems for a wide variety of quality
assurance applications.
Customers include manufacturers in the automotive, aerospace, defense, computer,
electronics, construction, farm, and medical equipment fields, as well as many
manufacturers and job shops in a variety of special fields.
Brown & Sharpe is recognized for having introduced the world's first commercial
electronic gage in 1944 and its first digital electronic caliper in 1977. In the early
1960s, the company's Italian subsidiary, DEA, introduced the first modern electronic
coordinate measuring machines. These machines are used in every major industry throughout
the world to provide extremely accurate dimensional information about the size and shape
of the parts.
Recently, what may be the first mechanical coordinate measuring machine - built by Brown
& Sharpe in 1875 - was found at the Herreshoff Co. in Bristol, R.I., one of the
world's best-known builders of boats and racing yachts. According to Henry D. Sharpe, Jr.,
Brown & Sharpe's chairman, "It didn't have the electronic bells and whistles of
its modern descendants, but all the essential principles were there. It was employed to
lay out every winning America's Cup defender from 1895 to 1920. The Herreshoffs credit the
device with giving them a significant edge in delivery time over their competitors."
Brown & Sharpe's strategic goal today is to provide manufacturers throughout the world
with the dimensional metrology equipment they need, not only to give them that same kind
of advantage over their competitors, but to achieve quality in all their manufacturing
processes. It's the concentration on this one idea that make Brown & Sharpe, and all
of its associated companies throughout the world, the recognized leader in the development
of high technology measuring systems.
